kscans

Chapter 151 - The Maiden of the Scales, Attended by a Thousand Blades - Part 1

Here I go.

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"Oh, Sora-san?"

"Yes?"

"No [Scareless], okay?"

"I wasn't going to use it!?"

I can't do much if thirty of my levels are siphoned away, so I just had to make sure, you know?

That broken mutual-buff skill is, at its core, a 'support skill.'

Sora said it could only be used on a limited target—which, for now, is just me—but conversely, that means she can use it on me at any time.

In other words, if we fought with truly 'anything goes,' I fundamentally cannot beat Sora. It's not a status ailment or a debuff; it's a secondary effect of a support buff... there's no way to resist it.

With [Scareless], the one transferring levels has thirty levels' worth—that is, 300 points—deducted from their highest stat all at once, so...

――――――――――――――――――
◇Status◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru
Lv: 100
STR: 300
AGI: 350
DEX: 100
VIT: 0 (+50)
MID: 0 (+350)
LUC: 300

◇Skill◇
・All Weapon Aptitude
[Blink Switch]
[Flip Stroke]
[Gusty Rim]
[Exchange Voltate]
Greed's Precept

・[Reflect Browall]
・[Tremble Slide]
・[Ignition]
・[Floating Leaf]
・[Foreknowledge Eye]

・Embodied Protection
・Combo Accelerate
・Awakening Blow
・Heavy Attack Manipulator
・Adamant Sky Dash
・Rabbit Run
・Fataless Jumper
・Rhino's Heart
・Trickery Precept
・Guardian's Cradle

・Telepathy
――――――――――――――――――

...Yep. In my case, my AGI would drop to 50, and I'd be left with nothing but muscle and luck.

If the points were deducted from my MID, which is currently equal due to buffs, I could maintain most of my combat strength and we could even fight as a double front... but unfortunately, it seems the skill only references base stats.

So, yeah. For example, if the word 'mercy' were to vanish from Sora's head in the middle of a brawl, my defeat would be all but guaranteed in that instant.

Of course, I don't think Sora would ever resort to such an outrageous act, but... again, just to be sure.

Sora glares at my teasing words as if to say, "How rude!" but I'm not scared in the slightest.

—What I'm currently feeling dread for is not the girl's adorable appearance, but the combat power that has yet to be revealed to the world, stacked within that delicate avatar.

............Can I be honest?

—I might actually lose this.

"Fuuu... —Sora, are you ready?"

On the verge of battle, I let out a long, thin breath and asked Sora, who stood facing me at a distance inside the white circle.

Whether she was copying me or it was unconscious, she took a deep breath with the exact same motion, then slowly opened her eyes—

"—...Hah!"

As if she'd made up her mind, Sora raised her face, and the [Cradle of Sword-Craft] on her right hand began to glow.

It was a familiar sight. A single, seamless sand sword materialized in her right hand.

"Whenever you're ready...!"

Her stance was somewhat stiff and awkward. Even so, her eyes were unwavering as she looked straight at me, the golden-haired girl declaring her will to fight.

Ah, really... it's impossible not to think back.

This is the same girl who, at the very beginning, could only scream and run away from a fungus whose only skill was to ram into things.

And now, here she is, about to cross swords with me as a clear equal.

"...[Blink Switch]."

I summoned my own Anima to my right hand, a mirror image of hers—the [White-Flawed Straight Sword]—and gripped it tight... and I wonder, what kind of expression was I making?

For a moment, the tension in Sora's eyes melted away as she stared, looking dazed—and I'd like to think the natural smile that appeared on her face was also a mirror image of my own.

"Sora."

"Yes."

"I'm coming at you with everything I've got."

I remember. You said you wanted to stand beside me.

I've never forgotten that you said you wanted to fight at my side.

So.

"Hah—... Yes! I'll show you everything I have, too!!"

Right. So, with the full extent of my current power...

I have to teach you that you're no longer behind me.

"Ui-san."

"Yes, whenever you're—"

"No, that's not it."

The stage was a large, white circle that took up most of the spacious grounds. For a duel between swordsmen, it was a battleground of a scale that might be too large but would never be insufficient.

Ui-san, watching us as we stood about ten meters apart in the center, was indeed standing outside the white circle—

"Could you please move back a little further?"

That is far, far too close.

"That's also part of Sora's combat zone—and, I think I should apologize in advance on my partner's behalf..."

In place of Sora, who had probably already entered her zone, I showed the stunned Sword Saint a strained smile.

"If the buildings have a damage model and happen to get hit by a stray shot... I'm sorry."

While I was belatedly taking out that insurance policy—something invisible exploded outward from the girl I was facing, pushing the very air aside.

It was likely the visual effect for 'magic' in Arcadia. The MID stat, into which she had poured half of the resources of a level 100 player, roared to life, sending a wind that whipped through her hair, my hair, and even the hair of Ui-san, who had moved even further away.

And then—

"—[Schwert Kreis]."

The opening key phrase was spoken, one that represented the 'Magic Swordsman' fighting style we had created together.

In that instant.

"—...!!"

It was an outlandish sight, one that I could vividly imagine would make even the Sword Saint, who had retreated to the side of the building, gasp in awe.

An uncountable number of swords deployed all at once, centered on Sora—like the sandstorm that once cloaked the great serpent, the girl was now attended by a thousand blades of sand.

As if a conductor, Sora swayed the single blade in her right hand, and the ring of magic swords that surrounded and constantly flew around her changed shape at will... like loyal retainers serving their king.

"............Well, now."

—I have to wonder, what am I supposed to do about that? Wasn't there a secret boss in some masochistic game who was just like this?

Even then, I feel like their berserk state after you cornered them was like this—but to think that this is her first form is enough to make me laugh.

"Looking at this, it's hard to tell which one of us is the challenger..."

One thing I can say is that, no matter what, I can't show a pathetic side here.

Not to Sora, whose expression has already thinned as she focuses completely on thought control, nor to the Sword Saint, who is secretly watching with eyes sparkling with delight.

We no longer need a signal to begin.

We can already read each other's breathing as if it were our own—so.

"[Ignition]—!!"

I pulled the trigger of the [Panga Fool] I had summoned to my left hand, and at the same time,

"—[Torus]."

Sora brandished her conductor's sword.

Crimson lightning burst from the black dagger and coursed through my avatar as I leaped forward in what was, in every sense of the word, a desperate first step—and aimed straight at me...

"[Tausend]—!!"

A thousand blades, commanded by the girl like a torrential waterfall, assaulted me all at once.